Quotes from Joseph Addison

And pleas'd th' Almighty's orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm.

There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.

The greatest reformation should be among those who have been the greatest sinners.

Thy father's merit sets thee up to view, And shows thee in the fairest point of light, To make thy virtues, or thy faults, conspicuous.

When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view I'm lost, In wonder, love and praise.

A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation.

Music religious heat inspires / It wakes the soul, and lifts it high / And wings it with sublime desires / And fits it to bespeak the Deity.

A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of. It heightens all the virtues which it accompanies; like the shades in paintings, it raises and rounds every figure, and makes the colours more beautiful, though not so glaring as they would be without it.

There is no greater sign of a general decay of virtue in a nation, than a want of zeal in its inhabitants for the good of their country.

The soul, secured in her existence, smiles at the drawn dagger, and defies its point.

Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by a power and wisdom less than infinite.

Nature does nothing without purpose or uselessly.